Left Alone
by Cinomarsh
Summary: Sweeney doesn't want Toby around anymore. Mrs. Lovett, however, might have something to say about it. (Someday I'll get better at titles and summaries, I promise!)
1. Something fun

**Goodmorning, afternoon or evening! I've decided to try and start another fic that's not a one-shot (still ST though, which I don't own) so please leave me some reviews and tell me what you think of it!**

Sweeney Todd was pacing back and forth by the large window in his barber shop one afternoon when he heard the bell on the door chime. He turned from his thoughts of revenge and blood to see Toby, his accomplice's pitiful apprentice, enter with a plate of bread and cheese.

He froze the minute he caught the barber's eye. He'd always been fearful of him, and it was understandable. Everything about his demeanor reminded the boy of some sort of pale, menacing creature from one of his nightmares. He knew Mrs. Lovett adored him, however, so he knew he had to come into contact with him every once in a while.

"Mum says you should eat something," he managed, setting the plate on the table next to the barber's beloved straight razors and hurrying out the door and away from his piercing glare.

Sweeney was left alone with his thoughts once again, which turned to the boy. He'd wanted to kill the thing and be done with it, but his accomplice had had other uses in mind. Poor Mrs. Lovett, so desperate for love that she needed to take in a starving child to ease the pain. Not that he pitied her, of course, but the whole concept was rather pathetic. He knew he needed her around to keep business moving along, but the boy he wished he could just be rid of.

He could always kill him and leave the body for Mrs. Lovett to find, but he wasn't sure that that would work. She might be driven into total madness (as opposed to the partial madness he was sure she currently experienced) and he couldn't have that. Someone needed to be sane enough to do his dirty work. But then an idea formed, an idea far more appealing than simple murder. This might even be fun, or at least, as close to fun as he figured he could get with his tortured soul.

He walked out of his shop and out onto the landing, surveying the tables and chairs set up below. Toby was busy scrubbing something sticky-looking off of one of them.

"Boy!" Sweeney called.

Toby looked up and froze again, his eyes widening. The man never spoke to him if he could avoid it. What could he possibly want?

The man nodded his head towards the barber shop before returning inside. Taking this as a request to enter, Toby reluctantly climbed the stairs and followed.

Once inside, the man turned to face the boy.

"Toby, I have something I need you to do for me." He told him, his voice terrifyingly smooth. That was the first time that Toby had heard the barber speak his name, and it gave him a chill.

"What's that, Mr. Todd?" He asked, fighting to keep his voice steady.

Sweeney took a step towards him, his hands clasped behind his back, one holding a razor.

"I want you to leave Fleet Street."

Toby was stunned. He didn't quite know how to respond.

"Wh- Why?"

"Because you're in my way." He stated simply.

"But my Mum is here!" The boy protested.

"Boy, I want you to leave," the barber continued, a bit more menacingly this time, "and not tell anyone. Not even Mrs. Lovett. No notes. No letters. I want you to disappear."

"And what if I don't?" Toby demanded, standing to his full height and trying to look brave. He wouldn't let this cruel man make him leave his home, no matter how many times he told him to.

The barber then did another thing Toby had never seen him do, something far more alarming than anything he'd done in the past; he smiled. It was more of a playful smirk, really, but the emptiness in his eyes gave way to something much darker. He chuckled and took another step forward, leaning down so his face was parallel to the boy's.

"If you don't, I kill her." He told the now almost shaking child.

Toby's stomach dropped. "Her" could only be one person.

"Mum?" He inquired, his voice tiny.

The barber nodded, his smirk fading as he stood straight again and brought his razor into the light to examine.

"You- You wouldn't." The boy challenged weakly.

The man's smirk formed again.

"Oh, but I would. It would be my pleasure." He drew out the last word just to see the boy wince. "Her's is a throat I've been dying to slit for some time."

"No!" The word that came from the child's lips was practically a whisper.

"So you'll go, then?" Sweeney asked.

The boy nodded, his throat now dry.

"Good. But remember, if you so much as breathe a word to her or to anyone else of our agreement, this blade will be coated in her blood." He told the boy, bringing the razor mere inches away from his terrified face, the man's smirk replaced only with malice.

Toby gulped.

Sweeney brought the razor back, examining it in the light once again.

"No excuses. I suggest you leave tonight." He said, and with that, returned to the window.

Toby bolted out the door.

The barber knew he'd scared the boy half to death. His work was done. All he had to do now was watch the boy squirm and Mrs. Lovett's happy home unravel.


	2. Something Troubling

Toby stood at the bottom of the stairs, taking deep breaths and trying to process what had just happened.

He had always been afraid of Mr. Todd, but he had chalked it up to a childish instinct. At worst, he thought the man could've been a thief or petty crook of some kind, but he'd never imagined that the man was capable of something this gruesome. To threaten to take the life of someone he loved? It was almost too horrifying to be true.

But what could he do? If he told his Mum, she'd confront the monster, he knew, giving him ample opportunity to kill her. He couldn't just stay, obviously. He could've gone to the law, but what proof did he have? Besides, if Mr. Todd saw the policemen, he might just kill Mrs. Lovett on the spot. His hands were tied.

That only left him with one option: give in to the barber's demands and abandon the only place he'd ever been loved, the only place he could call his home.

He wasn't even allowed to lie, just to put his Mum at ease. He had to completely disappear. And where was he supposed to go? He had no family, the workhouse was definitely not an option, and the madhouse was an even worse idea. He could try and find work in town, but if he ran into Mrs. Lovett or Mr. Todd it would end in disaster.

As these thoughts swirled in his mind, he walked through the door and into the pie shop. There were very few customers, and the ones that were there were already eating, so Toby took a seat at one of the empty tables and tried to sort out what to do.

At that moment, however, Mrs. Lovett entered with a fresh tray of pies. Toby could smell them from where he sat and his heart twisted. He would never eat one of those pies again after he left. Mrs. Lovett turned to see him and smiled. It felt like he'd been punched in the gut. He couldn't leave her, never. He knew she loved him as a son, and he knew that the worst thing that a mother could endure was the loss of a child. He couldn't put her through that. But then he pictured her eyes dimming, her face contorted into a scream...

No. He wouldn't let that happen. There had to be another way.

As he considered this, Mrs. Lovett was busily chatting with customers and serving food. She noticed Toby not helping but didn't think much of it. There were no more people than she could handle. He did seem uneasy, though.

She finished listening to a man talk about his new job and went over to her counter to prepare some more dough. After a short while she decided to go upstairs and take down the hopefully emptied plate she'd sent Toby up with earlier. As she headed towards the door, she paused at the table where Toby was seated.

"You don't seem quite yourself, love. You alright?" She inquired.

The boy snapped his head up to meet her eyes.

"I'm fine, Mum." He replied hurriedly.

The baker nodded and turned to leave. She didn't believe he was fine at all, but if he didn't want to tell her why then she wouldn't bother him.

Up the stairs she went, entering the barbershop without knocking. The sullen barber was perched by the window as usual, having noticed her reflection and decided that turning around wasn't worth the effort.

She turned to find the empty plate on top of the trunk in the corner of the room. She walked over and picked it up, and just as she was about to leave she heard a sound she'd never heard before. She couldn't be absolutely sure, but it sounded as if Sweeney Todd had just uttered the words: "Thank You".

Mrs. Lovett was astounded. He rarely spoke to her unless it was obligatory or a threat, never pleasantries, let alone gratitude. She turned to look at him and, although his back was turned, she thought she caught a glimpse of a smirk in his reflection. Not wanting to spoil it, she quickly headed out the door.

Was it even possible? Did he thank her and smirk in the same day? Could his good humor be caused by... By her? No, she wasn't foolish enough to believe that yet. But something had put the demon barber in a good mood, and whatever it was, she hoped it kept him that way.

Back in the shop, Toby was still trying to solve his problem. He could bring his Mum along and they could run together, but he knew deep down that she'd never leave her precious Mr. T, at least not without confronting him. It made him sick to even think of her looking at him the way she did now.

"Hers is a throat I've been dying to slit for some time." The madman's words still rang in his ears. Had he always felt that way about her? Were there any other victims that Toby didn't know about?

He couldn't afford to speculate now. He needed to keep his Mum safe.

He tried for what felt like years to think of an alternate solution to his dilemma, but eventually it became clear that he only had one option to keep his only family safe.

He had to leave, for good. He knew Mrs. Lovett was strong. Grief is hard to survive but being killed is harder.

Toby discreetly slipped out of the room to do some packing.


	3. Something Scary

The next morning, Mrs. Lovett arose with just the slightest bit of extra determination. She was holding out hope that her barber's good mood had lasted through the night or perhaps even improved. A few words were a great leap for Sweeney Todd, and a willing conversation was almost unimaginable, but the baker clung to her dream. Maybe he was warming up to her.

She dressed quickly, preparing herself for the day before starting her work. It wasn't until she'd made breakfast for Toby, Mr. T and herself that she noticed Toby was missing.

"Toby!" She called, assuming he was just in the next room. There was no reply.

"Toby?" She tried again. Silence.

Confused, she left the food on the counter and walked to the room that her boy typically occupied, hoping he was still asleep.

She pushed open the door, dismayed to see the room empty. Where could he have gone?

Fear started to surface in the woman's mind, and she began to wander the house and shop, calling the boy's name. She checked everywhere, including the bakehouse. There was no sign of him.

Mrs. Lovett's fear had now escalated to panic. Had he discovered her secret and gone to the law? Had someone taken him? Had Sweeney-

As soon as his name came to mind, she was up the stairs to the barber shop, dreading what she might find inside. To her relief, it was only Mr. Todd in the room when she arrived, sitting in the menacing chair and polishing one of his darling razors.

"Mr. T, have you seen Toby? I woke up this morning and he was gone!" She told him, desperation creeping into her tone.

The barber shook his head, not looking up.

Mrs. Lovett let out a sigh of frustration. She only had one option left.

"I'm going to the law," she told him, assuming he wasn't listening but, as she often did, explaining anyway, "maybe they'll look for him."

"Wait." The man said, turning to face her. He noted the surprise in her face, but it was to be expected. He hardly ever interacted with her if he could help it, but he hadn't thought she'd go to the law. In fact, he hadn't really thought at all.

"What do you mean, wait? The boy's out there somewhere! Something could've happened to him!" Mrs. Lovett exclaimed, disregarding the fact that he was actually making eye contact with her, which was excellent. Toby was important right now.

"We can't have the law here." He said, his voice deep and unnerving, as usual.

_Of course_, the woman thought, _he's only worried because it could endanger the business. _Her heart sank a little.

"I don't care," She stated stubbornly, "I can't just wait around." She started towards the door.

Sweeney sighed.

"Mrs. Lovett, wait." He said again. She turned to face him, her expression still mildly surprised.

"I-" He began, but she cut him off.

"Mr. T, you wouldn't have something to do with this, would you?" She asked, taking a step towards him, her tone and face serious.

"I didn't kill him, if that's what you think." He said flatly, turning away to stare out the window again, but to his shock, Mrs. Lovett crossed the room, took hold of his shoulder and spun him to face her. She could see that terrifying look enter his eyes, the rage she saw whenever he threatened her, but today she had no time to be afraid.

"Mr. Todd, what did you do with my son?" She demanded with as much force as she could muster.

"He's not your son." The man replied stubbornly, and it stung a little, but Mrs. Lovett wasn't going to be distracted.

"Answer the question." She ordered. She didn't think he'd ever ordered this man around before in her life.

Sweeney sighed again, the rage gone but the fire still just underneath.

"I dismissed him." He told her, watching her expression shift to confusion.

"I knew you didn't like him but he works for me, not you. And he wouldn't leave me, dismissed or not. So what did you do?" She asked, less forceful but still firm, despite her pounding heart.

Sweeney said nothing, holding her gaze as the wheels in the baker's head turned until she found an answer.

"You threatened him." She said. The barber didn't react, but she knew that had to be it. She felt sick at the thought of the man she loved threatening to hurt the closest thing to a child she'd ever had, but something didn't add up.

"But if you'd threatened his life, he would've told me, or at least gone to the law. You wouldn't have let that happen, would you? So what'd you tell him?" She asked, her voice having hardened. She was angry, but she needed the facts. There was time for anger later. She needed to know what Sweeney had done with him.

The man was still making eye contact with her, his eyes boring into hers.

"I threatened him," he stated, "with you."

**I know it wasn't super long, but please let me know how it was! Next chapter coming soon!**


	4. Something Changed

"Me?" Mrs. Lovett replied, her face impossibly whiter than usual, "You threatened my son... With me?"

Mr. Todd nodded, a gesture so minuscule that someone other than the baker, who had grown used to noticing the tiniest movements he made, might have missed it completely.

"What did you tell him? You'd kill me if he didn't leave?" She asked, her wide eyes creating the illusion of innocence. Every word she said felt like it took a great amount of effort.

Another small nod answered her question.

The woman turned her eyes away, as if unable to face the barber anymore. After a moment she seemed to drag herself back to him, her expression the personification of misery.

"Why?" The word rang out in the room as if someone had fired a shot.

There was a long pause before the reply:

"I wanted him gone." His voice was unwavering and yet somehow carried just a little less weight.

"You wanted him gone..." The broken woman repeated, staring off into nowhere again, and if trying to find her thoughts before putting them into words.

"I was wrong about you." She said finally, looking him straight in the eye, her voice steady but void of the emotions conveyed through her narrowed brown eyes.

"It's not about revenge anymore."

That seemed to catch his attention. He straightened up slightly, his face suddenly accusatory.

"What is it, then?" The barber snapped, sounding annoyed. Mrs. Lovett took a step back, but her expression didn't change.

"You want to hurt people. All those men, they did nothing to you. Toby did nothing to you." Her voice broke slightly as she continued, "I did nothing to you." She seemed to regain her strength before beginning again.

"You think that because you were hurt, that means that you're allowed to hurt others. That's not true, Mr. T, and it's certainly not what your Lucy would've wanted."

At the mention of his wife's name, the man tensed, fire burning in his eyes again.

"Don't tell me what my wife would've wanted." He told her, his voice having dropped, "You didn't know her. And you don't know me."

The woman in front of him gave a bitter laugh, for once unfazed by his threatening manner.

"I do know you, Mr. T, better than she did. When you changed, you stopped being her Benjamin. She wouldn't even recognize you now! This isn't about love for her. This is your pain." She looked down, her eyes sad again.

"And mine too, now."

The barber looked her over with disgust. He hated the way she talked about his Lucy, the way she played the victim here, as if it was she who was suffering day in and day out! But as much as he didn't want to admit it, she had a point. He had sent her boy away cruelly with no good reason and had hurt her. Was she right? Had his pain changed him entirely? He wasn't sure. But whatever it had changed him into in her eyes, he didn't care. This was all he had now.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Lovett's head was spinning. She had just lost Toby, her boy, her child. And she couldn't believe she loved the man who did this to her. She hated him, hated what fate and anguish had done to him, and how it had sent everything spiraling out of control. With Toby, she'd had something to hold on to, an escape from Sweeney Todd's dark and twisted world, a way to keep everything balanced, but now he was gone. The dark was all that was left now, and she didn't know if she could live with that. In fact, she knew she couldn't. She turned away and began making her way towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Mr. Todd asked, stopping her just before the door.

"I'm leaving." She told him, without making a move to meet the gaze she could feel burning into the back of her skull.

"Leaving?" The man repeated. Mrs. Lovett heard him take a step forward.

"Take the shop, take the money, take everything. I'm finished." She took a deep breath and turned to see him, his expression slowly forming a glare.

"I can't do it anymore. All of it. I don't want to spend the rest of my life doing your work after what you did to me."

"Mrs. Lovett-" the menacing man began, but the distraught baker wasn't finished.

"It had to be him," she said, "Didn't it? The only thing I loved besides you. You had to take it away." She let her words hang in the air before turning to the door a final time and opening it to leave, but before she could, the barber was at her side, placing a firm hand on the door and shutting it. The woman's heart was beating out of her chest, hopefully out of fear and nothing else, as she met his eyes.

"Mr. Todd, open the door." She ordered, but he didn't budge.

"You're not leaving." He told her firmly.

"Why not?" She asked, "You don't want me here."

Sweeney knew he needed to keep her here. He couldn't manage the entire system on his own, and he certainly couldn't have her moving away. Perhaps after a while, she'd feel guilty or have a change of heart and turn him in. He couldn't let that happen, not when he was so close. But there was another part of him, a part of him that told him that, while Benjamin Barker was incomplete without Lucy, Sweeney Todd might just be incomplete without Mrs. Lovett. But he pushed that part away. If he had to kill her to keep her quiet, he would. He wouldn't allow his musings to interfere with his goals.

"Business." He told her. This elicited another humorless laugh from Mrs. Lovett.

"This isn't business. This is madness." She stated, still meeting his eyes.

The barber sighed internally. He didn't want to have to do this but he had run out of options. He reached around and grabbed the back of the woman's neck, pulling her closer to him and lifting the razor he held to her throat. But this time her reaction was different. She simply raised her eyebrows and continued to smile dryly.

"You gonna kill me, Mr. T?" She asked, more rhetorically than anything.

"Not if you stay." He replied. This wasn't turning out to be as effective as he'd hoped.

The woman sighed.

"Hell was waiting for me anyway. What's a few more corpses?"

This was something he'd never seen in her before. It was... Defeat. She'd given up. He'd taken the last bit of fight out of her when he shut the door. He had to admit that that scared him a little.

He released her, stalking back over to the window so he wouldn't have to look at her anymore. After a moment, he heard the bell on the door chime as she left.

For far too long after that, the demon barber was fighting off a terrible new thought;

"What have I done?"


	5. Something Secret

Mrs. Lovett knew she couldn't handle suicide. She'd thought about it vaguely in the past, but for her, nothing had ever seemed quite inescapable. She was very good at holding on to hope. Plus, she did have an example of what might happen if it went wrong, but she tried to keep that out of her mind. She didn't need guilt plaguing her thoughts on top of everything else.

As she descended the stairs, however, she felt more hopeless than ever before. Her life was being threatened by a madman who insisted that she continue to mutilate the corpses of innocent people for him, despite the fact that he'd scared away her boy for no reason. She didn't know where she was going to find hope in such a twisted situation.

As if in a trance, Mrs. Lovett opened and worked in the shop for the rest of the day. She could tell that her customers noticed her change in behavior, but luckily they were all too polite to comment. Everything was a lot more difficult without Toby, and the extra workload was almost enough to distract her, but her eyes kept wandering up the stairs to the barber shop and she couldn't help feeling betrayed.

She didn't understand why, seeing as she knew how he felt about her. She knew she was merely a mildly irritating necessity, but there were times where they'd seemed to be at least friends, and times when she'd felt like they were more. Even after he threatened her life she'd hoped. But now it was different. This time he'd actually hurt her. She knew he had no morals but she never thought he'd threaten a child, her child no less, with her life just to satisfy some sadistic urge. She just didn't understand.

By the time she closed up shop, she wasn't any better off than when she'd opened, probably worse. She was about to go and start on the bodies in the bakehouse when she noticed a familiar face peeking through the window. A very familiar face.

"Toby," she breathed.

She made eye contact with him, and he beckoned for her to come outside.

She quickly exited the pie shop, the bell loudly protesting to her frantic escape.

The small figure led her to an alley across the darkening, crowded street before turning to face her. Her heart soared.

"Toby... Toby I'm so glad to see you." She told him, smiling in spite of herself.

"I couldn't just leave you alone with him." He replied, his face sombre. "He's not who you think he is, he's-"

"Shh..." Mrs. Lovett comforted him, closing the distance between them and holding him in her arms. "I know. I know."

"You know?" He asked, looking up at her, "You know... What he told me?"

Mrs. Lovett nodded.

"Then you know we have to leave."

She sighed. She knew that when she saw him, this would be the next step. She couldn't expect everything to go back to the way it was, she knew. It would end in blood. But just like she had thought she couldn't live without Toby's light in her life, could she really live without the dark? It was a part of her now. But as she looked into her boy's eyes, so filled with primitive, innocent fear and uncertainty, she knew she had made her choice.

"Yes, love, I know." She said, a sad and involuntary smile forming on her lips.

Toby's expression remained grave as he pulled away from her.

"Tonight, at midnight, meet me here. Then we'll run. We'll be safe." There was an urgency to his words, a maturity he'd been forced to assume. Mrs. Lovett's smile faded and she nodded. There was a pause as the two of them stood, looking at each other, each trying to understand what the other was going through.

Mrs. Lovett was the first to speak again.

"Toby... I'm sorry."

"For what?" He asked.

"For what Mr. Todd did to you. It's my fault he's here, my fault he..." Her voice wavered and she stopped, looking down taking a deep breath. When her eyes met the boy's again, they were full of tears. Toby wrapped his arms around her, trying to comfort her even the slightest bit. What Mr. Todd had done to him was awful, but Mrs. Lovett had known him for years. She had probably endured much worse.

"It's alright, Mum." He told her. "He won't hurt either of us, not ever again."

Mrs. Lovett kissed Toby's forehead and hoped that he was right, that they could leave and that Mr. Todd would be erased from their lives, but she felt deep down that he couldn't be. Too much had happened, too much to forget. She wasn't sure she would ever be whole.

As the two were reuniting and discussing their plans, a third figure watched unnoticed from behind the windows of the pie shop. Mr. Todd, having come downstairs for a bit of gin, had noticed the pair and was watching them intently. After a minute or two, he stalked back upstairs to the barbershop and slammed the door.

How could he have been so careless? Of course the boy would come back for her, and now that the stupid woman knew the truth, she would leave with him! He'd be left with an empty pie shop and a growing pile of bodies!

He sat down in his chair and stared at the ceiling. Why had he ever tried to rid himself of the boy anyway? Toby had kept Mrs. Lovett happy and working, and he really hadn't been that much of a nuisance. Maybe the baker was right, maybe he just wanted to hurt people. Or maybe he'd thought that the boy would get in the way. Well, he was certainly in the way now. And now he was taking Mrs. Lovett with him.

But why did that even matter? He could just close the pie shop, burn the bodies and keep the barbershop going. He doubted that his accomplice would watch him hang, so he wasn't concerned about the law. What was stopping him? The answer Mr. Todd kept coming back to wasn't one he particularly liked: Mrs. Lovett.

He knew she was pushy, delusional and annoying, but maybe that wasn't the end of it. Maybe she was a part of Sweeney Todd, this man the barber had created for himself. They'd started all of this, embracing this new life of theirs together, and he was not about to let all of that slip away now.

They would finish it together or die trying.


	6. Something Finished

Mrs. Lovett sat in the parlor, watching the clock and waiting for midnight to arrive. Her stomach was twisted up into a knot and she had to remind herself every few minutes to keep her breathing steady. A part of her wished she could just go to sleep and wake up when everything was back to the way it was, but she knew it couldn't be that way. She barely slept anyway. She had been having horrible night terrors ever since she'd lied about Lucy. She'd thought about leaving a note for Mr. Todd (shortly after she left, of course) telling him about what had become of his dear wife, but she had decided against it. It would only make him want to come after her, and she couldn't have that.

The clock finally struck twelve and she hurriedly got up and retrieved her bag from the bedroom. She couldn't have risked Mr. T coming downstairs and seeing her with it, despite the fact that she hadn't heard him pacing upstairs for nearly an hour now. She assumed he was asleep or in some sort of tortured sleep-like state. Either way she doubted he would be coming downstairs any time soon. She was wrong.

Te baker opened the door to the pie shop for the last time, muting the bell with her hand and closing the door behind her as quietly as she could. She walked over to the darkened alley as quickly as she dared, not wanting to attract too much attention._You never know who might be prowling around at night_, She reminded herself.

Toby was standing exactly where he was earlier that evening, a bag thrown over one shoulder. Mrs. Lovett let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. The boy turned and his solemn face broke in to a wide grin. She could tell how relieved he was to see her. It looked as if he was full of hope again.

When she reached him, they embraced, but not for long. Toby pulled away after a moment, collecting his bag.

"We have to hurry," He told her in a hushed voice, his expression serious again, "the next train out of London is leaving soon."

Mrs. Lovett nodded and picked up her own bags. She was thrilled to be reunited with her son and to be leaving the barber behind, but she was also feeling a little... Saddened. She didn't think she would miss this horrid place but seeing it now, for the last time, she realized she probably would. It had been her home for years, after all.

The two walked to the opposite end of the alley and had barely turned the corner when all of a sudden a figure darted put from the shadows, grabbed the baker by the waist and pulled her towards him, moving a gleaming, silver straight razor to rest on her throat. Sweeney Todd had found them.

The barber watched as Toby dropped his bag and instinctively backed away. He felt his lips forming a smile and didn't suppress it. This was the last time he'd see either of them anyway. What did it matter?

He waited for the boy to say something, anything, but he just stood there as if words couldn't describe what was happening. Perhaps for him, they couldn't. Mrs. Lovett, however, somehow seemed less distressed than her adoptive son. Her muscles were tense pressed against his chest, but her breathing was deep and even. The boy's reappearance had rekindled her fire and will to live, enough to make her nervous when staring death in the face, but she was clearly not panicking, which didn't surprise Todd. This wasn't the first time she'd been in this position. Maybe she thought she still had a chance. The barber smiled a little wider.

"What's the matter, boy?" He asked, returning his attention to Toby, "Did you think I was lying?"

"No." The quivering child responded.

"I told you this would happen. I told you I'd kill her." The man pressed the razor a little harder against his victim's throat. Her breathing quickened slightly.

"Please, no." The boy repeated, looking with terror at the baker.

"Mr. T." Mrs. Lovett's voice came, no more than a whisper. The man's smile faded. This was't just another customer's life he was toying with. Ir was Mrs. Lovett's. He sighed a little.

"I never wanted it to end this way." He said, to the baker and to Toby. "I really didn't."

Mrs. Lovett turned her head ever so carefully to face Mr. Todd, her brown eyes pleading. He didn't want to have to take the light from those eyes. But he had no choice.

"Sorry, love." He whispered, dragging his razor across her throat and letting her fall forward.

He watched as she held herself up on her hands and knees and gasped for breath, the blood pooling underneath her. Eventually she fell onto her side, her last breath leaving her lips and her eyes finally dulling. He couldn't take his eyes off her. He'd done it. He'd really done it. He was alone.

Todd raised his head after what felt like a lifetime and looked at Toby, a sight which was almost more terrifying than the last. The boy was trembling all over, his skin white and his eyes wide. His mouth was parted slightly and it looked as though he might faint. But then he stopped shaking, clenching his fists and jaw and for a moment he seemed to have aged ten years in seconds. Toby looked from Mrs. Lovett's body to her murderer then, and Todd saw all the hatred in them that he knew burned in his own.

Todd looked back down at Mrs. Lovett. She was right, all he had wanted to do was hurt people. The Judge was only a part of that. He knew that after the judge he could've kept killing, and most of all he knew that his Lucy would've been appalled.

He looked into Toby's hateful eyes once more before placing his razor, still covered in the baker's blood, to his wrist and cutting, deeply. He did the same to the other wrist before pain could blind him. He fell to his knees, his razor dropping from his hand and his body slumped forward, looking at the last corpse he'd ever create. Toby watched as the barber's life came to a close and he was left alone.

**Well, there you have it, folks. I managed to kill them off again. If you liked it or have any suggestions on things I could improve on then please feel free to review, and thank you to everyone who already has!**


End file.
